Whisperian

Overview

Whisperian reads web pages and local PDF files aloud, highlighting each word as it is spoken. To generate natural speech, it sends the text you choose to have read to a text-to-speech (TTS) service and plays back the audio it returns. This policy explains exactly what is sent, where, and why.

What Data Is Processed

When you start reading a web page, Whisperian extracts the visible text content of that page (paragraphs, headings, list items, and similar elements) and sends it, in chunks, to the Vaani text-to-speech service at https://vaani.akl773.com. The service returns synthesized audio and word-level timing data, which the extension plays and uses to highlight words as they are spoken.

When you read a PDF, the file is opened and rendered entirely on your device by a PDF engine bundled inside the extension. Whisperian then extracts the PDF's text and sends it, in the same chunks, to the Vaani TTS service — exactly like page text. The PDF file itself is never uploaded; only the extracted text is sent.

      In plain terms: the text of the pages and PDFs you ask
      Whisperian to read aloud is transmitted to an external server
      (vaani.akl773.com) so it can be converted to speech. If a page or
      PDF contains personal or sensitive information and you ask Whisperian to read it,
      that text will be sent to the TTS service.
    

What Is Sent to the TTS Service

The readable text of the web page, text selection, or PDF you choose to have read aloud (up to 5,000 characters per request).
Your chosen voice, speaking rate, and pitch settings for that request.

Whisperian does not send your browsing history, page URLs, cookies, login credentials, the PDF files themselves, file names or paths, or any text from pages or files you have not asked it to read.

What Stays Local

Your preferences — selected voice, language, and playback speed — are stored locally in your browser using Chrome's storage API. They are not transmitted anywhere except as part of an individual read request (voice, rate, and pitch are included so the audio matches your choices).
PDF files are processed entirely on your device: rendering and text extraction happen locally in your browser, and only the extracted text leaves your device — and only to the TTS service.
When you ask Whisperian to read a local PDF that is open in a browser tab, the extension briefly holds that file's path in Chrome's session storage to pass it to the reader, then clears it. This path is never transmitted off your device.
The reading panel's position and size are also saved locally.

Data Retention & Sharing

Whisperian itself does not store the page or PDF text after a read request completes; it is held in memory only long enough to play the audio.
The handling and retention of text by the Vaani TTS service is governed by that service's own operation. Whisperian does not use the data for advertising, profiling, or tracking, and does not sell it.
No analytics or telemetry are collected by the extension.

Permissions

activeTab

Lets the extension read the text of the page in your current tab — and detect when that tab is a PDF so the toolbar button can offer the reader — only when you explicitly interact with the extension (open the popup, click a control, or use a keyboard shortcut).

storage

Saves your voice, language, and speed preferences, the reading panel's position and size, and — briefly — the path of a PDF being handed to the reader. This data stays on your device.

scripting

Injects Whisperian's content script into your current tab on demand (for example after the extension updates) when you start a read. It runs under the activeTab grant from your action, not on pages in the background.

offscreen

Plays the audio returned by the TTS service in a background offscreen document, so playback isn't blocked by a page's autoplay or content-security rules. No data is sent anywhere through this — it only plays the clip.

contextMenus

Adds the single right-click "Read selection aloud" menu item, which appears only when you have text selected.

Host access to https://vaani.akl773.com

Allows the extension's background worker to send the text you choose to read to the Vaani TTS service and receive synthesized audio in return. This is the only external host the extension contacts.

Optional: "Allow access to file URLs"

A Chrome setting you control on the extension's details page (chrome://extensions), off by default. Turn it on only if you want Whisperian to read PDFs you open from your computer. When enabled, the extension can read the local PDF files you explicitly choose to read, in order to render and speak them — it does not scan, index, monitor, or upload your files. This is a browser-managed setting, not a permission the extension requests in its manifest.

Your Control

No text is sent unless you actively start a read — of a page, a selection, or a PDF. If you do not start reading, no content leaves your browser. Reading local PDFs is additionally gated behind Chrome's optional "Allow access to file URLs" setting, which stays off until you enable it. To remove all locally stored preferences, remove the extension from Chrome.

Contact

Questions about this policy? Contact: contact@akhilsingh.in